Spearmint Tea for PCOS/PMOS: What Two Small Studies Found

Two small spearmint-tea studies found lower testosterone markers, but no significant objective improvement in facial hair. Here is what was actually tested.

That distinction matters if you are deciding whether to build a daily routine around spearmint tea. A change in a blood result is interesting. It is not proof that the tea treats hirsutism, acne, scalp hair loss, irregular periods, or fertility problems.

Is spearmint tea good for PCOS/PMOS?

There is a preliminary signal, not a settled treatment result.

The human evidence for spearmint tea and PCOS/PMOS comes from two small, short studies. Both used the tea twice daily and reported a decrease in free testosterone. The longer randomized trial also found lower total testosterone and better self-rated hirsutism. But its objective facial-hair score did not improve significantly compared with placebo.

The authors of the 30-day trial thought the study may have been too short to capture visible hair changes. That is a reason for a longer trial. It is not evidence that spearmint will improve facial hair after three months, six months, or any other untested timeline.

No newer isolated human trial of spearmint tea in PCOS or hirsutism was located in our September 2026 search of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov.

How much spearmint tea did the studies use?

Both studies used spearmint tea twice daily. That tells us the exposure researchers chose. It does not establish an optimal, therapeutic, or universally safe home dose.

The PubMed reports specify cups per day but do not provide a reproducible leaf weight, water volume, tea-bag strength, or steeping method. The trials also did not compare one cup with two or three cups or one preparation with another. They therefore cannot support claims that two cups are necessary, that three cups are better, or that a particular home-brewing method reproduces the studies.

The useful way to read “twice daily” is as a study detail, not a prescription.

When is the best time to drink spearmint tea?

There is no evidence-based best time of day. Neither study compared morning with evening, bedtime with daytime, use with food, or two separated cups with another schedule.

If you drink spearmint tea as an ordinary beverage, the evidence does not show that moving it to a particular hour makes it work better for PCOS. The current studies also do not tell us whether an occasional cup changes an androgen marker.

Can you drink spearmint tea during your period?

The studies do not give an evidence-based rule to avoid spearmint tea during a period or to prefer it then. The 2007 study was scheduled during the follicular phase, which begins on the first day of a cycle, but the report does not say whether each participant was bleeding during the five days. The researchers did not compare cycle phases or study menstruation-specific safety.

The 30-day study followed participants for a month but did not establish that continuous use through every menstrual phase improves a PCOS outcome. It also did not show that spearmint restores periods or ovulation.

How long does spearmint tea take to work?

The studies can answer only when they measured a change:

• The five-day study reported a change in free testosterone, not a visible symptom result.
• The 30-day trial reported changes in testosterone and self-rated hirsutism, but no significant between-group change in the objective facial-hair score.

Those findings do not give us an evidence-based timeline for facial hair, acne, scalp hair, cycles, or fertility. In particular, the studies do not support the common promises that acne should improve within two months or that facial hair should improve within three to six months.

What does the evidence mean for facial hair, acne, and fertility?

It depends on the result you want.

Lower testosterone on a blood test: The two studies reported a short-term free-testosterone change. The randomized trial also reported lower total testosterone. We do not yet know whether that result persists with longer use or predicts a benefit that a reader can feel or see.

Unwanted facial or body hair: Participants in the randomized trial rated their hirsutism more favorably, but the objective score did not improve significantly compared with placebo at 30 days. Current evidence does not establish an objective hirsutism treatment result.

Acne or scalp hair loss: Neither study tested these outcomes. A testosterone change cannot be converted into an acne or scalp-hair claim.

Periods, ovulation, or fertility: The studies measured changes in luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. They did not demonstrate cycle restoration, ovulation, pregnancy, or a fertility benefit. Hormone movement alone does not prove any of those outcomes.

Are capsules, extracts, peppermint, and spearmint tea equivalent?

No equivalence has been established.

The human studies used tea made from Mentha spicata, or spearmint. They did not test peppermint, essential oil, a concentrated extract, or a capsule. A capsule amount such as 400 to 1,000 mg cannot be reverse-engineered from cups of tea without evidence that the preparations deliver the same compounds in the same amounts.

Check the botanical name if you are trying to identify what a study used. “Mint” is not specific enough, and evidence for spearmint tea should not be assigned to a different species or preparation.

What about pregnancy, trying to conceive, and medications?

The two tea studies were too small and short to establish safety during pregnancy, while trying to conceive, while breastfeeding, with long-term use, or alongside regular medicines. That does not prove harm. It means these studies do not answer the safety question.

NCCIH notes that many dietary supplements have not been tested during pregnancy or nursing and that supplements can interact with medicines. It does not identify a specific spearmint interaction or establish that tea and concentrated products carry the same risk (NCCIH).

If one of those situations applies, bring the exact tea or supplement label to the clinician or pharmacist managing that decision. Do not use a tea study to assume that an extract, oil, or multi-ingredient product is equivalent.

When symptoms need assessment instead of a tea experiment

New or rapidly worsening facial hair or acne, especially with voice deepening, increased muscle mass, or another sign of virilization, warrants prompt assessment. Current guidance uses the speed and severity of change, virilization, biochemical results, and assay quality to decide how urgently to investigate (Elhassan et al. 2025).

For a slower-standing concern, the next decision still depends on the outcome. Facial hair, acne, scalp thinning, irregular cycles, and fertility questions do not become the same problem merely because androgens may be involved.

Our outcome-by-outcome guide to reducing androgens in women explains what evidence and assessment fit each goal.

How we checked the evidence

On September 2, 2026, we searched PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov for spearmint or Mentha spicata with PCOS, hirsutism, androgen, and randomized-trial terms. We found the 2007 five-day study and the 2010 randomized 30-day trial described above, but no newer isolated human spearmint-tea PCOS or hirsutism trial. Newer records included reviews, animal research, and a multi-herb product, none of which can establish the effect or dose of spearmint tea by itself.